May 02, 2013

EMILY's List, which aims to elect Democrat women who support abortion rights, is out Thursday with new polling describing what voters are seeking in a woman president--and, it adds, voters in key states are quite ready for a woman in the White House.

The survey appeared on the same day that a new Quinnipiac University poll showed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton an overwhelming choice among Democratic primary voters, with Vice President Joe Biden a distant second. If Clinton does not run, though, Biden becomes a strong favorite.

In the EMILY's List poll, Lisa Grove and Jeffrey Liszt of Anzalone Liszt Grove Research found that in battleground states:

90% would consider voting for a qualified woman candidate from their party

86% believe that America is ready to elect a woman president

72% believe that it is likely that America will elect a woman president in the next presidential election

51% believe that the women elected to Congress and Senate last cycle are making a positive difference

75% believe a woman president would be a good thing for this country, and that it will send a positive signal to our children and grandchildren

And a female president is perceived to be as capable or more capable than a male president when it comes to:

o Understanding the challenges that middle class families face and the challenge of juggling work and family

April 28, 2013

Sarah Palin is trashing the White House Correspondents Association dinner, a change of heart from the days when she attended such gatherings in Washington.

"That #WHCD was pathetic," she tweeted Saturday evening. "The rest of America is out there working our asses off while these DC assclowns throw themselves a #nerdprom."

For the record, Palin attended - and apparently enjoyed - a big media dinner when she came to the winter dinner of the Gridiron in December 2009. The jobless rate then was 10 percent.

In April 2011, she attended DC parties associated with the White House Correspondents Association Dinner and apparently enjoyed it. The unemployment rate then was 9 percent.

The unemployment rate now is 7.6 percent.

Other than the juxtaposition of the dinner while Americans are working hard, Palin did not elaborate on her complaint about the dinner, during which the association awards scholarships to students and awards to journalists and heard jokes from Conan O'Brien and President Barack Obama.

October 10, 2012

Paul Ryan -- who will face off against vice president Joe Biden tomorrow in their only debate of the election -- tells CNN he's fond of the veep -- just not his policies.

"You know we've gotten along quite well over the years," Paul said. "You know, I like Joe personally quite a bit. I just disagree with his policies."

Ryan sought to set expectations for the debate, noting that Biden "has been doing this for a long time. He ran for president twice, he's the sitting vice president. He's been on this big stage before, so that's new for me, and I'm just doing my homework and studying the issues."

But he said he's not called the only other person to debate Biden in a vice presidential debate: former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for advice.

"You know, I haven't," Paul said. "I don't really know her. I only met her once and that was about two years ago."

September 05, 2012

The actor/director's unusual Republican speech was listed as the highlight by 20 percent of those who saw some of last week's convention, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday. The Thursday acceptance speech by Republican nominee Romney was mentioned by 17 percent.

The poll found the public paid "far less attention to this year’s Republican convention than it did to the GOP convention four years ago," according to Pew.

37 percent said they watched all or some of the Republican convention, down from 56 percent in 2008, when Arizona Sen. John McCain was the presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was his running mate..

June 11, 2012

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman's still number one, but former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's moving up fast.

That's the assessment of where potential Republican vice presidential candidates stand in the National Journal Hotline's latest assessment.

"Pawlenty is getting more attention than conventional wisdom holds, according to our sources. He was once angling for a spot in Romney's Cabinet; now, he's sounding like he wants the job," the Hotline writes Monday.

Also moving up is Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee. Ryan "makes more sense and may be closer to Romney than most people believe," the analysis said.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is not expected to announce his choice of a running mate until late August. The Republican convention begins in late August.

Moving down the list was the previous number two, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and number three, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, now fifth.

"The same questions about Rubio's relatively thin resume we raised months ago remain. But no one has consistently campaigned for the job as much as Rubio has -- despite his staff's denial," the analysis said.

Then again, the magazine reminded, at this stage of other election cycles, no one saw potential nominees on any list--think of then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2008.

April 20, 2012

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney sharply rejected criticism Friday from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has suggested the Secret Service sex scandal -- coupled with other Beltway exposes, including reports of over the top convention spending by the General Services Agency, show a White House not in control. The allegations have surfaced at the same time as graphic photographs of soldiers in Afghanistan posing with corpses..

"It is preposterous to politicize the Secret Service; to politicize the terrible conduct of some soldiers in Afghanistan in a war that's been going on for 10 years," Carney said, accusing Palin and Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions, who has been critical of the Secret Service incident and GSA imbroglio of looking to turn the incidents to their political advantage.

"It's a ridiculous assertion that trivializes both the very serious nature of the endeavor that our military is engaged in in Afghanistan and the very serious nature both of the work that the Secret Service does," Carney said.

Sessions on Thursday criticized Obama's leadership and Palin emerged as a factor in the story when the Washington Post reported that one of the fired agents said in a Facebook posting that he was "'checking her out" under a picture of him standing behind her. She suggested on Fox News Thursday that it was a "symptom of government run amok" -- though host Greta van Susteren noted that the event was in 2008 -- when George W. Bush was president.

March 19, 2012

Bristol Palin writes openly to President Barack Obama, wondering why Obama called Sandra Fluke when she was called a slut by Rush Limbaugh, but has said nothing about a pro-Obama PAC taking $1 million from a man who called used similar language to describe Palin and her mother.

From Bristol Palin's blog:

You don’t know my telephone number, but I hope your staff is busy trying to find it. Ever since you called Sandra Fluke after Rush Limbaugh called her a slut, I figured I might be next. You explained to reporters you called her because you were thinking of your two daughters, Malia and Sasha. After all, you didn’t want them to think it was okay for men to treat them that way:

“One of the things I want them to do as they get older is engage in issues they care about, even ones I may not agree with them on,” you said. “I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way. And I don’t want them attacked or called horrible names because they’re being good citizens.”

And I totally agree your kids should be able to speak their minds and engage the culture. I look forward to seeing what good things Malia and Sasha end up doing with their lives.

But here’s why I’m a little surprised my phone hasn’t rung. Your $1,000,000 donor Bill Maher has said reprehensible things about my family. He’s made fun of my brother because of his Down’s Syndrome. He’s said I was “f—-d so hard a baby fell out.” (In a classy move, he did this while his producers put up the cover of my book, which tells about the forgiveness and redemption I’ve found in God after my past – very public — mistakes.)

If Maher talked about Malia and Sasha that way, you’d return his dirty money and the Secret Service would probably have to restrain you. After all, I’ve always felt you understood my plight more than most because your mom was a teenager. That’s why you stood up for me when you were campaigning against Sen. McCain and my mom — you said vicious attacks on me should be off limits.

Yet I wonder if the Presidency has changed you. Now that you’re in office, it seems you’re only willing to defend certain women. You’re only willing to take a moral stand when you know your liberal supporters will stand behind you.

But…

What if you did something radical and wildly unpopular with your base and took a stand against the denigration of all women… even if they’re just single moms? Even if they’re Republicans?

I’m not expecting your SuperPAC to return the money. You’re going to need every dime to hang on to your presidency. I’m not even really expecting a call. But would it be too much to expect a little consistency? After all, you’re President of all Americans, not just the liberals.

October 05, 2011

Regardless of what she felt about time with her family, there was one practical political reason Sarah Palin finally said she will not seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination: Republicans didn’t want her.

As early as last winter, Republicans and conservative activists started telling me they’d moved on. They said they didn’t like the fact she’d quit her job as governor midway through her term, and that they didn’t think she was showing any interest in learning about national issues.

"Her major weakness is that she needs to bone up on how the government works," said Don Long, a retiree from Lake Wylie, S.C., told me last February. "I don't know if she's done as much of that as she needs to."

She paled next to Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who wowed early gatherings of conservatives with her ability to talk in depth, and in a compelling way, about issues form debt to foreign policy.

By this fall, the sentiment was overwhelming.

By 72 percent to 24 percent, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents told a McClatchy-Marist Poll last month they did not want her to run.

Even 68 percent of tea party supporters, her would-be base, said they did not want her to run.

October 5, 2011Wasilla, AlaskaAfter much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation’s governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the “fundamental transformation” of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law.

From the bottom of my heart I thank those who have supported me and defended my record throughout the years, and encouraged me to run for President. Know that by working together we can bring this country back – and as I’ve always said, one doesn’t need a title to help do it.

I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets, including in the race for President where our candidates must embrace immediate action toward energy independence through domestic resource developments of conventional energy sources, along with renewables. We must reduce tax burdens and onerous regulations that kill American industry, and our candidates must always push to minimize government to strengthen the economy and allow the private sector to create jobs.

Those will be our priorities so Americans can be confident that a smaller, smarter government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people can better serve this most exceptional nation.

In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.

Thank you again for all your support. Let’s unite to restore this country!